A palm oil company has forcibly evicted an indigenous community from one of the last tracts of rainforest near Jempang in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, reports Telapak, a group that advocates community forest management.

The incident, which allegedly took place last week, pitted villagers of Muara Tae against plantation developer PT Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa after the company acquired 638 hectares of disputed land. Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa was backed by state security forces.

Abdon Nababan, General Secretary of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples Archipelago (AMAN), said the conflict arose from the government’s failure to recognize traditional ownership of the forest land, which has been used for generations by Dayak Benuaq people.

Asuy and the coal mine. Courtesy of Telapak.

Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto, President of Telapak, demanded that the government of Indonesia halt the eviction process.